System and method for instant messenger busy gauge

ABSTRACT

A system and method that gathers activity level from users and provides a “busy gauge” to others that indicates the user&#39;s activity level. In one embodiment, the user&#39;s activity is computed automatically based upon the user&#39;s interaction with their computer system. In the automatic method, an input tracking routine records the user&#39;s input frequency, such as mouse clicks, voice inputs, keyboard inputs, and other inputs in order to determine the user&#39;s activity level. The recorded activity data is compared with activity level thresholds that can be either default thresholds or user-specified. The user can select to use a manual input level in which the user specifies the user&#39;s activity level despite the number of input actions received at the user&#39;s computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to a system and methodproviding a busy gauge for uses of an instant messaging application. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a system and method fordetermining activity levels of instant messaging partners and displayingsuch activity levels in a busy gauge corresponding to each instantmessaging partner.

2. Description of the Related Art

Instant messaging has become a critical communications technology formany users and organizations. Instant messaging allows a user to createa “session” with one or more other users so that messages can be sentback and forth contemporaneously. The flow of messages in an instantmessage session creates a dialog between the user and other users withwhom the user has established a session. In this manner, quick messagescan be transmitted without sending an email message or telephoning theother user. Users can choose whether and when to respond to instantmessages, much like an email message. However, unlike email messages, ininstant messaging, a window is displayed on the user's display showingthe messages between the user and another user.

Initially, instant messaging applications were perceived as an informalmeans for family and friends to chat online. However, businesses andother professional organizations have quickly adopted instant messagingas a key tool for business communications. Conference call attendeesoften engage in instant messaging sessions with certain people in theconference call or with other people not attending the conference call.These instant messaging sessions often allow the attendee to askquestions that would not be made verbally on the conference call,enabling conference calls attendee to be more informed and efficient.

Another use of instant messaging is providing technical support orassistance to others. In this regard, instant messaging is oftenpreferred over telephone or email communications. The advantage ofinstant messaging over using the telephone is that, using instantmessaging, one technician can provide assistance simultaneously tomultiple parties, while using telephones would generally serialize thecommunication so that only one person could be assisted at a time. Inaddition, with many types of technical assistance, there are oftendelays that are incurred while the person receiving assistance performsvarious functions. Using instant messaging, these delays can be utilizedto help others, while using the telephone these delays simply lengthenthe amount of time before the next person can be assisted.

When providing assistance, either technical or otherwise, instantmessaging is often preferred over email because of the “back and forth”nature of the instant messaging communication that generally makes theflow of information more efficient than using email. Often times thetechnician may need background, system, or other information tounderstand the nature of the problem and be able to suggest a course ofaction. Using instant messaging, the background, courses of action, andeffectiveness of the various actions can be ascertained within a singleinstant messaging session. Using email, communicating this same “backand forth” information may take several separate email messages.

While instant messaging has distinct advantages over other forms ofcommunication, it is not without its challenges. Because instantmessaging is neither face-to-face or verbal, it is difficult todetermine how busy other people are when engaging in instant messagingcommunications. The challenge is exacerbated by the fact that instantmessaging is often used for more social communications in addition tomore serious business discussions. A friend or colleague may not realizethat the recipient in an instant messaging session is extremely busy andmay send instant messages related to trivial, low priority, or non-workitems. Not only is the busy person distracted by the trivialcommunications, but they have to take the time to send a responseletting the other person know that they are currently very busy. Becauseinstant messaging is often used for more social interactions, suchintrusions into a busy person's day may result in less than tactfulresponses and may unintentionally alienate the colleagues or otherwisedamage the personal relationship between the parties.

What is needed, therefore, is a system and method that provides a busygauge that informs others of an instant messaging participant's activitylevel. What if further needed is a system and method that automaticallycalculates a person's level of activity based upon the person'sinteraction with his or her computer system.

SUMMARY

It has been discovered that the aforementioned challenges are resolvedusing a system and method that gathers activity level from users andprovides a “busy gauge” to others that indicates the user's activitylevel. In one embodiment, the user's activity is computed automaticallybased upon the user's interaction with their computer system. In theautomatic method, an input tracking routine records the user's inputfrequency, such as mouse clicks, voice inputs, keyboard inputs, andother inputs in order to determine the user's activity level. Therecorded activity data is compared with activity level thresholds thatcan be either default thresholds or user-specified. For example,thresholds may be in place so that if the user averages over 100 inputsper minute the user's activity level is considered “high,” if the useraverages between 25 and 99 input actions per minute the activity levelis “medium,” and if the user averages fewer than 25 input actions perminute, the activity level is “low.” Understanding that sometimes a usercan be busy without having numerous input entries, such as when readingan important report, the user can select to use a manual input level inwhich the user specifies the user's activity level despite the number ofinput actions received at the user's computer.

The user's activity level (e.g., high, medium, or low) is sent to theuser's instant messaging partners (i.e., those users with which the userhas an active instant messaging session). In one embodiment, an iconicrepresentation is displayed based upon the activity level to graphicallyindicate the user's activity level. In this manner, a user can see whichinstant messaging partners are busy and avoid interrupting such userswith trivial or non-work related comments or questions.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, asdefined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limitingdetailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a screen layout showing configuration options available to theuser;

FIG. 2 is a screen layout showing a user's instant messaging hub ofactive and queued users;

FIG. 3 is a screen layout showing an embodiment of providing multiplediscussion threads in a single instant messaging session;

FIG. 4 is a screen layout showing a user's instant messaging hub ofactive and queued users along with busy gauge indicators for activeparticipants and queue numbers for parties waiting to establish aninstant messaging session;

FIG. 5 is a high level flowchart of an instant messaging applicationproviding queue limits and busy gauge indicators;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing steps taken in configuring limits on thenumber of partners allowed in a user's instant messaging application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing steps taken in configuring options thatpertain to a user's instant messaging application;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in executing an instantmessaging application with a queue limit;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in handling a new instantmessaging session request;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in opening a new instantmessaging session with a requesting user;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to manage additions tothe instant messaging wait queue;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to terminate an instantmessaging session;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle an inactiveinstant messaging session;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to display an instantmessaging list;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle requestsreceived while the user interacts with the instant messaging list;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to display an instantmessaging session with multiple threads;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle user inputwhile the user interacts with the multi-threaded instant messagingsession interface;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to compute and transmit auser's activity level using a busy gauge;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to provide queue andsession counts; and

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a computing device capable of implementingthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is intended to provide a detailed description of anexample of the invention and should not be taken to be limiting of theinvention itself. Rather, any number of variations may fall within thescope of the invention, which is defined in the claims following thedescription.

FIG. 1 is a screen layout showing configuration options available to theuser. Display window 100 is divided into two frames: frame 101 is usedas a container for options related to concurrent sessions, and frame 150is used as a container for other options.

Frame 101 includes textbox 105 into which the user enters the maximumnumber of active instant messaging sessions that are allowed. In theexample shown, the user has entered “4” as the number of sessionsallowed. Frame 101 also includes textbox 115 for entering the messagethat will be sent to a instant messaging partner when there the numberof allowable active sessions has been reached. In the example shown, theuser has entered “I'm busy right now, want to join the queue?” intotextbox 115.

Textbox 120 is used to enter the identifiers (i.e., user IDs) of messagepartners that are allowed to supersede, or override, the session limit.In the example shown, two users have been entered. If the user's instantmessaging session limit has been reached and either of the partnerslisted in textbox 120 requests an instant messaging session, an instantmessaging session is opened even though the user's instant messagingsession limit has been reached. Option 125 is a flag that indicateswhether sessions with users that are allowed to override session limitsare included in the user's session counts. In the example shown, theoption has been selected, so if the user has one session with one of thepartners listed in textbox 120 and three other sessions with three otherpartners, then the maximum number of sessions has been reached. However,if the option is not selected, then the session with the partner listedin textbox 120 is not counted toward the session limit.

Textbox 130 is where the user enters the amount of idle time until asession is considered inactive. In the example shown, the user hasentered three minutes. If an active session is idle for three minutes,then it is considered idle and, if one or more partners are waiting fora session, a new session is opened with one of the waiting partners.Text boxes 135, 140, and 145 are used to show the message color, waitingpartner color, and background color, respectively.

Other options frame 150 is used for the user to select three options.Option 160 indicates whether the number of current active sessions withthe user's session partners. For example, if the option is selected andthe user currently has three instant messaging sessions, then each ofthe instant messaging partners is informed that the user currently hasthree instant messaging sessions. In the example shown, however, theoptions is not selected so this information will not be provided to theuser's instant messaging partners.

Option 170 is used to choose whether partners that are waiting for aninstant messaging session are informed of their position in the user'squeue. In the example shown, the option has been selected so waitingpartners are provided with this information.

Option 180 is used by the user to select whether a busy gauge isdisplayed for instant messaging partners with whom an active instantmessaging session is initiated. In the example shown, the option hasbeen selected so busy gauges are shown for the active message partners.For examples of busy gauges, see the window shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 is a screen layout showing a user's instant messaging hub ofactive and queued users. Instant messaging hub window 200 includesinformation about the user's instant messaging partners and theircurrent status. Summary 210 shows that the name of the instant messaginghub is “work” and that the user currently has six active sessions, threepartners are waiting for an instant messaging session, and that thereare 11 total partners in the hub. Node 220 is shown being selected. Thisnode corresponds to an active user, as indicated by the square icon.Context menu 230 has been opened and shows that the user can eitherswitch to the instant messaging session or close the instant messagingsession. Node 240 corresponds to a waiting partner, as indicated by thecircle icon. Node 250 corresponds to a partner that is unavailable, asindicated by the “x” icon. Finally, node 260 corresponds to a partnerthat has left a message for the user rather than wait in the wait queue,as indicated by the “information” icon.

Command buttons 285, 290, and 295 are used to perform various actions.When a user has been selected and command button 285 is clicked, thenthe display switches to display the window with the correspondinginstant messaging session. Command button 290 is used by the user toinvite others to be instant messaging partners or to initiate an instantmessaging session with a user that is not yet an instant messagingpartner. When a user has been selected and command button 295 isclicked, then the instant messaging session with the selected partner isterminated.

FIG. 3 is a screen layout showing an embodiment of providing multiplediscussion threads in a single instant messaging session. Multi-threadedinstant messaging session window 300 includes user information 310,session details 320, and new thread input box 370. User information 310includes information about the session partner with whom themulti-threaded instant messaging session is being conducted. A commandbutton is included to view more information about the session partner.

Session details 320 includes the text sent between the user and thesession partner. Conversation thread 330 is shown as being collapsedwith a single line from the thread being displayed. The user can selectthe plus sign (+) next to the thread to expand the conversation threadto view the other messages within the thread.

Conversation thread 340 is shown as being expanded with multiplemessages being displayed in a sub-window that is scrollable using scrollbar 360. Textbox 350 is used by the user to enter a new message thatwill be included in this conversation thread. The user can select theminus sign (−) next to the thread to collapse the conversation threadand hide all but one of the messages in the thread.

New textbox 370 is used to start a new conversation thread. When theuser enters a message in new textbox 370, a new thread is created anddisplayed in session details 320. Command button 375 is used to send amessage. In addition, in one embodiment the user can enter text in oneof the textboxes and press the enter key to send the message. Commandbutton 380 is used to display the hub display, such as that shown inFIGS. 2 and 4. Finally, command button 390 is used to end themulti-threaded instant messaging session.

FIG. 4 is a screen layout showing a user's instant messaging hub ofactive and queued users along with busy gauge indicators for activeparticipants and queue numbers for parties waiting to establish aninstant messaging session. The hub display in FIG. 4 is similar to thatshown in FIG. 2. Window 400 includes summary 405 that shows that thereare 11 message partners, six of whom have active instant messagingsessions and three of whom are waiting to have instant messagingsessions. In FIG. 4, more information is provided for each of themessage partners.

Active sessions are shown in nodes 410, 420, 430, 450, 460, and 465 andeach has a busy gauge that indicates the activity level of therespective instant messaging partner. Some of the busy gauges have asmall “c” indicating that the partner's activity level was automaticallycomputed and others have a small “m” indicating that the partnermanually set the partner's activity level. The busy gauges each have oneor more horizontal bars to indicate the activity level of the respectivepartner. Three bars indicate a partner that has a high current activitylevel, two bars indicating a medium activity level, and one barindicating a low activity level.

Partners that are currently waiting for an instant messaging session areindicated by hexagons and are shown in nodes 425, 470, and 475. Theposition of each of these partners in the wait queue is indicated by thenumber that is displayed within the icon (i.e., “1,” “2,” and “3”).

Node 440 is shown as being inactive. This is indicated by the “x” icon.Node 480 is shown as having left a message, as indicated by the“information” icon.

Command buttons 285, 290, and 295 are used to perform various actions.When a user has been selected and command button 285 is clicked, thenthe display switches to display the window with the correspondinginstant messaging session. Command button 290 is used by the user toinvite others to be instant messaging partners or to initiate an instantmessaging session with a user that is not yet an instant messagingpartner. When a user has been selected and command button 295 isclicked, then the instant messaging session with the selected partner isterminated.

FIG. 5 is a high level flowchart of an instant messaging applicationproviding queue limits and busy gauge indicators. Instant messagingapplication processing commences at 500 whereupon, at step 510, the userconfigures the instant messaging queue limit parameters, such as themaximum number of instant messaging sessions to allow at a given time(predefined process 510, see FIG. 6 and corresponding text forprocessing details).

The instant messaging application determines whether the busy gauge hasbeen activated by the user (decision 520). If the busy gauge has beenactivated, decision 520 branches to “yes” branch 530 whereupon theuser's activity level is determined in order to transmit the busy gaugeto the user's instant messaging session partners (predefined process540, see FIG. 18 and corresponding text for processing details). On theother hand, if the busy gauge has been turned off, decision 520 branchesto “no” branch 550 bypassing predefined process 540.

At predefined process 560, instant messaging sessions are initiated withthe queue limits and other configuration settings set by the user (seeFIG. 8 and corresponding text for processing details). Instant messagingprocessing thereafter terminates at 595.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing steps taken in configuring limits on thenumber of partners allowed in a user's instant messaging application.Configuration processing commences at 600 whereupon, at step 610 theconfiguration panel is displayed to the user (see FIG. 1 andcorresponding text for details regarding the configuration panel). Atstep 620, the maximum number of active instant messaging sessionsallowed by the user is stored in configuration data store 625. At step630, the queue message is received from the user and stored inconfiguration data store 625. The queue message is a message that issent to a user that is requesting an instant messaging session when themaximum number of session limits has already been met. The queue messagetypically invites the requestor to join a queue to wait for an availableinstant messaging session.

A determination is made as to whether the user has identified any usersthat can supersede the maximum session limit (decision 640). Using theexample shown in FIG. 1, the user is allowing a maximum of four instantmessaging sessions at a time. However, the user has identified two usersthat can supersede this limit. If the user currently has four activesessions and one of the identified users requests an instant messagingsession, the instant messaging session is activated even though themaximum number of sessions has already been met. Returning to FIG. 6, ifthe user identified users that can supersede the session limits,decision 640 branches to “yes” branch 645 whereupon, at step 650, theidentifiers (e.g., UserIDs) of the users that are allowed to supersedeare retrieved and stored in configuration data store 625. On the otherhand, if the user did not identify any users that can supersede theallowed number of sessions, decision 640 branches to “no” branch 655bypassing step 650.

At step 660, an “idle time” is received and stored in configuration datastore 625. In one embodiment, when the idle time limit expires the idlesession is no longer counted towards the maximum number of sessions thatare allowed at a given time. Using the example shown in FIG. 1, when asession has been idle for three minutes, the session is considered to beinactive and, if another user is waiting to have an instant messagingsession, a new instant messaging session is opened to accommodate thewaiting user. In this example, there would actually be five activeinstant messaging sessions rather than the normal allowed maximum offour. In an alternate embodiment, the idle time limit can be used toterminate an idle session that has not been used for a certain amount oftime. Consequently, in this alternate embodiment, the maximum number ofactive instant messaging sessions is not altered by idle sessions assuch idle sessions are terminated rather than remaining as activesessions.

Various color settings are received and stored in steps 670, 675, and680. The message color of the messages received in an instant messagingsession is received and stored in step 670. At step 675, the user inqueue color is stored. This color is used to indicate which users arecurrently waiting for an instant messaging session with the user. Thebackground color for the user's instant messaging session is receivedand stored at step 680.

Various configuration options are then received and stored (predefinedprocess 690, see FIG. 7 and corresponding text for processing details).Processing thereafter returns at 695.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing steps taken in configuring options thatpertain to a user's instant messaging application. Processing commencesat 700 whereupon, at step 710, available configuration options aredisplayed to the user (see FIG. 1 and corresponding text for detailsregarding the displayed options on the configuration panel) Adetermination is made as to whether the user has opted to show his orher instant messaging partners the number of currently active instantmessaging sessions active with the user (decision 720). If the useropted to show the number of sessions to his or her message partners,decision 720 branches to “yes” branch 725 whereupon, at step 730, a flagis set indicating that the number of active sessions should be shared(Show_Chats=Yes). On the other hand, if the user did not opt to sharethis information, decision 720 branches to “no” branch 735 whereupon, atstep 740, the flag is not set (Show_Chats=No), thereby indicating thatthe number of active sessions should not be shared.

A determination is made as to whether the user has opted to show waitingmessage partners their position in the user's queue (decision 750).Using the example shown in FIG. 1, if the user already has four activesessions and three people waiting for an instant messaging session, thenthe three people waiting for a session could be informed of theirposition in the wait queue (i.e., first, second, and third). Providingthis information to users may enable the waiting users to decide toattempt a instant messaging session at another time, send the user amessage, or wait for an available session. This information may alsoprovide the waiting users with an approximate amount of time until asession is available. For example, if the user is first or second in thequeue, it may be a relatively short amount of time until a session isavailable, but if the waiting user finds out that he or she is thirtiethin the queue, the amount of time will likely be much longer until asession is available.

Returning to FIG. 7, if the user opted to show waiting message partnerstheir position in the queue, decision 750 branches to “yes” branch 755and a flag is set (Show_Position=Yes) at step 760. On the other hand, ifthe user did not opt to show waiting message partners their position inthe queue, decision 750 branches to “no” branch 765 and, at step 770,the flag is not set (Show_Position=No).

A determination is made as to whether the user opted to show his or herinstant messaging session partners a busy gauge indicating the activitylevel of the user (decision 775). If the user opted to show partners abusy gauge, decision 775 branches to “yes” branch 778 whereupon, at step780, a flag is set to provide the busy gauge to others (Show_Busy=Yes).On the other hand, if the user opted to not provide his or her activitylevel to others, decision 775 branches to “no” branch 782 whereupon, atstep 785, the flag is not set (Show_Busy=No).

At step 790, the various flags are stored in configuration data store625. Processing thereafter returns at 795.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in executing an instantmessaging application with a queue limit. Processing commences at 800whereupon, at step 805, the user invokes the instant messagingapplication. At step 810, the instant messaging application reads theconfiguration settings stored in configuration data store 625 andinitializes the current number of sessions to zero.

An event processor receives events at step 815 and a series of decisionsfollows in order to handle the event. A determination is made as towhether the received event was a request for a new instant messagingsession (decision 820). If the event was for a new instant messagingsession, decision 820 branches to “yes” branch 822 whereupon the newinstant messaging request is processed (predefined process 825, see FIG.9 and corresponding text for processing details), and processing loopsback to receive the next event.

If the event was not for a new instant messaging session, decision 820branches to “no” branch 828 whereupon another determination is made asto whether the event is to terminate an existing instant messagingsession (decision 830). If the event is to terminate an existing instantmessaging session, decision 830 branches to “yes” branch 832 whereuponthe termination of the instant messaging session is processed(predefined process 835, see FIG. 12 and corresponding text forprocessing details), and processing loops back to receive the nextevent.

If the event was not for terminating an instant messaging session,decision 830 branches to “no” branch 838 whereupon another determinationis made as to whether the event is that an existing instant messagingsession is inactive (decision 840). An inactive instant messagingsession is a session that has not been used (i.e., no messages have beencreated or received for the session) for a certain amount of time, wherethe amount of time is configurable by the user. If the event is that anexisting instant messaging session is inactive, decision 840 branches to“yes” branch 842 whereupon the inactive instant messaging session isprocessed (predefined process 845, see FIG. 13 and corresponding textfor processing details), and processing loops back to receive the nextevent.

If the event was not for handling an inactive instant messaging session,decision 840 branches to “no” branch 848 whereupon another determinationis made as to whether the event is that an user has requested to view alist of instant messaging activity (decision 850). FIGS. 2 and 4 showexamples of screen displays that detail instant messaging activity. Theinstant messaging activity list shows the user the active sessions,instant messaging partners that are waiting for a new instant messagingsession, instant messaging partners that are not available, and instantmessaging partners that have left a message for the user. If the eventis a request to view instant messaging activity, decision 850 branchesto “yes” branch 852 whereupon the instant messaging list is displayedfor the user (predefined process 855, see FIG. 14 and corresponding textfor processing details), and processing loops back to receive the nextevent.

If the event was not a request to view instant messaging activity,decision 850 branches to “no” branch 858 whereupon another determinationis made as to whether the user has requested that the instant messagingapplication be terminated (decision 860). The instant messagingapplication can be terminated by the user closing the instant messagingapplication or by the user shutting down the computer system. If theevent is not a request to exit the instant messaging application,decision 850 branches to “no” branch 852 whereupon another instantmessaging event is handled (step 865), and processing loops back toreceive the next event. Events continue to be processed until the eventis to exit the instant messaging application, at which point decision860 branches to “yes” branch 890 and instant messaging applicationprocessing terminates at 895.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in handling a new instantmessaging session request. Processing commences at 900 whereupon, atstep 905, the user's instant messaging application receives the useridentifier of the instant messaging partner that is requesting a newinstant messaging session. At step 910, the user's instant messagingapplication tries to find the requestor's user identifier within thelist of users that are allowed to supersede the user's instant messagingsession limits. The list of users allowed to supersede the instantmessaging limits is user-configurable and stored in configuration datastore 625.

A determination is made as to whether the requestor's user identifierwas found in the list of users that are allowed to supersede the instantmessaging session limits. If the requestor's identifier was found,decision 920 branches to “yes” branch 925 to handle opening a newinstant messaging session with the requester. First, at step 930, aconfiguration setting is retrieved that indicates whether a requestorthat is found in the supersede list is counted towards the instantmessaging session limit. This determination is made at decision 935. Ifthe requester counts toward the instant messaging session limit,decision 935 branches to “yes” branch 940 whereupon, at step 945, thenumber of instant messaging sessions is incremented by one. On the otherhand, if the requestor does not count towards the instant messagingsession limit, decision 935 branches to “no” branch 948 bypassing step945. In either case, however, a new instant messaging session is openedwith the requesting user (predefined process 950, see FIG. 10 andcorresponding text for processing details).

Returning to decision 920, if the requestor's user identifier was notfound in the supersede list, decision 920 branches to “no” branch 955whereupon a determination is made as to whether the current number ofactive instant messaging sessions is greater than or equal to themaximum number of sessions allowed by the user (decision 960). Theamount of active sessions may be greater than the maximum number allowedif one or more requesters from the supersede list have active sessionsand the user has opted not to count such users towards the limit on themaximum number of sessions. If the current number of active instantmessaging sessions is greater than or equal to the maximum number ofsessions allowed by the user, decision 960 branches to “yes” branch 965whereupon processing occurs to manage a possible addition to the user'sinstant messaging wait queue (predefined process 970, see FIG. 11 andcorresponding text for processing details). On the other hand, if thecurrent number of active instant messaging sessions is not greater thanor equal to the maximum number of sessions allowed by the user, decision960 branches to “no” branch 975 whereupon, at step 980, the number ofactive instant messaging sessions is incremented and a new instantmessaging session is opened with the requesting user (predefined process985, see FIG. 10 and corresponding text for processing details).

After the requestor has been handled (i.e., either added to the waitqueue or a new instant messaging session has been opened with therequester), queue and session counts are provided to the user's instantmessaging partners (predefined process 990, see FIG. 19 andcorresponding text for processing details). Processing thereafterreturns at 995.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the steps taken in opening a new instantmessaging session with a requesting instant messaging partner.Processing commences at 1000 whereupon, at step 1005, the instantmessaging application reads the user's multi-threaded discussionpreference from the configuration data store. A determination is made asto whether the user wishes to use multiple discussion threads for eachinstant messaging session (decision 1010). If the user opted to usemultiple discussion threads, decision 1010 branches to “yes” branch 1015to start a multi-threaded instant messaging session.

The number of discussion threads is initialized to zero at step 1020. Atstep 1025, a first message is sent or received. A thread identifier isextracted from the message at step 1030. A determination is made as towhether the thread identifier is a number that is greater than thenumber of threads (decision 1045). If the thread identifier is greaterthan the number of threads (indicating a new discussion thread),decision 1045 branches to “yes” branch 1048 in order to process the newthread. The number of threads is incremented at step 1050 and the numberof messages in this thread is initialized to one at step 1055. A newentry is added to a message array at step 1060 and set equal to themessage text of the message that was sent or received.

Returning to decision 1045, if the thread identifier is less than orequal to the number of threads (indicating that the new message belongsto an existing discussion thread), then decision 1045 branches to “no”branch 1062 whereupon the number of messages in the discussion thread isincremented at step 1065, and a new entry is added to a message array atstep 1070 and set equal to the message text of the message that was sentor received.

Once the message text has been added to the appropriate message array,the multi-threaded instant messaging session window is displayed(predefined process 1075, see FIG. 16 and corresponding text forprocessing details). A determination is made as to whether the user hasrequested to terminate the instant messaging session (decision 1080). Ifthe instant messaging session has not been terminated, decision 1080branches to “no” branch 1082 which loops back to receive the nextmessage for the multi-threaded instant messaging session. This loopingcontinues until the session is terminated, at which time decision 1080branches to “yes” branch 1085 and processing returns at 1095.

Returning to decision 1010, if the user is not using multi-threadedinstant messaging sessions, decision 1010 branches to “no” branch 1088whereupon a traditional single threaded instant messaging session isinvoked for the chat session and processing returns at 1095.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to manage additions tothe instant messaging wait queue. Processing commences at 1100whereupon, at step 1105, the queue message is retrieved fromconfiguration data store 625 along with a user-configurable flag thatindicates whether the user's instant messaging partners are providedwith their position in the user's wait queue. A queue message is auser-configurable message that may, for example, inform the requestorthat the user is currently busy and invite the requestor to wait for anavailable instant messaging session.

A determination is made as to whether the user's instant messagingpartners are provided with their position in the wait queue based uponthe retrieved flag (decision 1110). If the user has opted to share queuesize information, then decision 1110 branches to “yes” branch 1115whereupon the user's current queue size is included in the user's queuemessage at step 1120. On the other hand, if the user has opted to notshare queue size information, then decision 1110 branches to “no” branch1125 bypassing step 1120. At step 1130 the queue message (either with orwithout queue size information) is sent to the requestor. The requestersends a reply regarding whether the requestor wishes to join the user'swait queue. A determination is made as to whether the requester hasopted to join the wait queue (decision 1135). If the requestor opts tojoin the wait queue, then decision 1135 branches to “yes” branch 1138 toadd the requester to the queue. At step 1140, the requestor's useridentifier is added to wait queue 1160 and, at step 1145, the number ofrequestors waiting for an instant messaging session is incremented. Adetermination is made, based upon the retrieved Show_Position flag, asto whether to provide the requestor with his or her position in thequeue (decision 1150). If the user has opted to provide thisinformation, decision 1150 branches to “yes” branch 1152 whereupon, atstep 1155, the requestor is provided with his or her position in thequeue. On the other hand, if the user has opted to not provide thisinformation, decision 1150 branches to “no” branch 1158 bypassing step1155. Processing thereafter returns at 1195.

Returning to decision 1135, if the requester decides not to join theuser's wait queue, decision 1135 branches “no” branch 1162 whereupon, atstep 1165, the requester is asked if he or she wishes to leave a textmessage. A determination is made as to whether the requester opted toleave a text message (decision 1170). If the requester opted to leave atext message, decision 1170 branches to “yes” branch 1172 whereupon, atstep 1175, the requestor's text message is received and stored inmessage memory area 1180. At step 1190, the user's instant messagingqueue 1160 is updated to indicate that the requestor left a message anda pointer is included to associate the requester with the text messagestored in memory 1180. Returning to decision 1170, if the requesterdecided to not leave a message, decision 1170 branches to “no” branch1192 bypassing steps 1175 and 1190. Processing thereafter returns at1195.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to terminate an instantmessaging session. Processing commences at 1200 whereupon, at step 1210,the user identifier of the party with whom the terminating instantmessaging session is retrieved. At step 1220 the user's instantmessaging application tries to find the requestor's user identifierwithin the list of users that are allowed to supersede the user'sinstant messaging session limits. The list of users allowed to supersedethe instant messaging limits is user-configurable and stored inconfiguration data store 625.

A determination is made as to whether the requestor's user identifierwas found in the list of users that are allowed to supersede the instantmessaging session limits (decision 1225). If the requestor's identifierwas found, decision 1225 branches to “yes” branch 1228 whereupon at step1230, a configuration setting is retrieved from configuration data store625 that indicates whether the requester that is found in the supersedelist was counted towards the instant messaging session limit. Thisdetermination is made at decision 1240. If the requestor was countedtoward the instant messaging session limit, decision 1240 branches to“yes” branch 1242 whereupon, at step 1245, the number of instantmessaging sessions is decremented by one. On the other hand, if therequestor does not count towards the instant messaging session limit,decision 1240 branches to “no” branch 1246 bypassing step 1245.

Returning to decision 1225, if the requestor's user identifier was notfound in the list, then decision 1225 branches to “no” branch 1248 anddecrements the number of active instant messaging sessions at step 1249.Regardless of whether the requestor's user identifier was found in thesupersede list, the instant messaging session with the requester isclosed at step 1250. A determination is made as to whether the number ofsessions is less than the maximum number of allowed sessions (decision1260). If the number of sessions is less than the maximum number ofsessions allowed (i.e., after the number of sessions was decremented ateither steps 1245 or 1249), then decision 1260 branches to “yes” branch1262 whereupon another determination is made as to whether there arecurrently other users waiting to have an instant messaging session withthe user (decision 1270). If there are users waiting to have an instantmessaging session, decision 1270 branches to “yes” branch 1272 whereuponthe next user identifier that was queued in instant messaging queue 1160is retrieved at step 1280. A new instant messaging session is thenstarted with the waiting user (predefined process 1285, see FIG. 10 andcorresponding text for processing details). Returning to decisions 1260and 1270, if the number of sessions is greater than or equal to themaximum number allowed (decision 1260), or if there are no users waitingfor an instant messaging session (decision 1270), then the decisionsbypass steps 1280 and 1285 using “no” branches 1268 and 1278,respectively.

Queue and session counts are provided to the user's instant messagingpartners (predefined process 1290, see FIG. 19 and corresponding textfor processing details). Processing thereafter returns at 1295.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle an inactiveinstant messaging session. Processing commences at 1300 when an inactiveinstant messaging session has been identified (see FIG. 8 which callsthe processing shown in FIG. 13).

When an inactive instant messaging session has been identified, FIG. 13checks to see if there are waiting instant messaging session partnersthat have requested an instant messaging session with the user (step1310). This is performed by step 1310 checking instant messaging queue1160 which includes a list of any waiting instant messaging partners.Based on this check, a determination is made as to whether there are oneor more users waiting for an instant messaging session with the user(decision 1320). If there is at least one user waiting for an instantmessaging session with the user, decision 1320 branches to “yes” branch1325 whereupon steps are performed to add a new (active) instantmessaging session with the waiting user.

The number of active instant messaging sessions is incremented at step1330. The next user identifier that was queued in instant messagingqueue 1160 is retrieved at step 1340. A new instant messaging session isthen started with the waiting user (predefined process 1350, see FIG. 10and corresponding text for processing details). As the number of queuedand active sessions has now changed, the updated queue and sessioncounts are provided to the user's instant messaging partners (predefinedprocess 1360, see FIG. 19 and corresponding text for processingdetails). Processing thereafter returns at 1395.

Returning to decision 1320, if there are no instant messaging partnersthat are waiting for an active instant messaging session, decision 1320branches to “no” branch 1375 bypassing steps 1330-1360. Processingthereafter returns at 1395.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to display an instantmessaging list (for examples of an instant messaging lists see FIGS. 2and 4). Processing commences at 1400 whereupon, at step 1410, the listof instant messaging partners (active, waiting, unavailable, and thosethat have left messages) is retrieved from instant messaging queue 1160and sorted according to the user's preference. For example, the user maychoose to have the instant messaging partners displayed alphabeticallyby name, or the user may choose to have the instant messaging partnersgrouped by category so that active instant messaging partners aredisplayed in one group, waiting instant messaging partners are displayedin a second group, instant messaging partners that have left messagesare displayed in a third group, and instant messaging partners that arecurrently unavailable are displayed in a fourth group. At step 1420, thenumber of active sessions and the number of instant messaging partnerswaiting for a session is displayed.

The first user from the sorted queue is retrieved at step 1430. Theuser's information is written to the display and highlighted accordingto whether the retrieved user has an active session, is waiting for aninstant messaging session, or has left a message at step 1440.

A determination is made as to whether the retrieved partner has anactive instant messaging session with the user (decision 1450). If theretrieved partner has an active instant messaging session with the user,decision 1450 branches to “yes” branch 1455 whereupon a determination ismade as to whether the user has opted to view a busy gauge thatindicates the partner's activity level (decision 1460) based uponsettings in the user's configuration (this option is shown beingconfigured at the bottom of the screen in FIG. 1). If the user has optedto view the busy gauge, decision 1460 branches to “yes” branch 1462whereupon, at step 1465 the current activity level for the instantmessaging partner is retrieved and, at step 1470, a busy gauge icon iscreated and displayed that indicates the partner's activity level (seeFIG. 4 and corresponding text for an example and description of variousbusy gauge icons depicting the activity level of various instantmessaging partners). Returning to decision 1460, if the user did not optto view the busy gauge, decision 1460 branches to “no” branch 1472whereupon steps 1465 and 1470 are bypassed. Returning to decision 1450,if the retrieved partner does not have an active instant messagingsession with the user, decision 1450 branches to “no” branch 1474bypassing the busy gauge processing shown in steps 1460 to 1470.

After the retrieved partner has been processed and highlightedaccordingly, a determination is made as to whether there are morepartners queued in instant messaging queue 1160 (decision 1475). Ifthere are more partners queued, decision 1475 branches to “yes” branch1478 whereupon the next partner is retrieved from the queue (step 1480)and processing loops back to display the retrieved partner and display acorresponding busy gauge if appropriate. This looping continues untilall the partners in the queue have been processed, at which timedecision 1475 branches to “no” branch 1485 whereupon the user interactswith the displayed list and the system handles the user's requests(predefined process 1490, see FIG. 15 and corresponding text forprocessing details). Processing thereafter ends at 1495.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle requestsreceived while the user interacts with the instant messaging list.Processing commences at 1500 whereupon, at step 1510, the user selectsone of the displayed instant messaging partners or enters a command. Aseries of determinations is made to process the user's request.

A first determination is made as to whether the selected instantmessaging partner currently has an active instant messaging session(decision 1520). If the selected instant messaging partner has an activesession, decision 1520 branches to “yes” branch 1525 whereupon the useris allowed to switch to the active session or close (terminate) thesession (step 1530).

If the user did not select a partner with an active session, decision1520 branches to “no” branch 1535 whereupon another determination ismade. This next determination is whether the selected partner has left amessage (decision 1540). If the selected partner has left a message,decision 1540 branches to “yes” branch 1545 whereupon, at step 1550, theuser is allowed to read the message left by the instant messagingpartner and/or open a new active session with the partner.

If the user did not select an active partner or a partner that has lefta message, decision 1540 branches to “no” branch 1555 whereupon adetermination is made as to whether the selected user is inactive (i.e.,not waiting for or engaged in an active session) or is waiting in thequeue for an active session (decision 1560). If the user selected aninactive or waiting partner, decision 1560 branches to “yes” branch 1565whereupon the user is allowed to open a new active instant messagingsession with the selected partner (i.e., initiate a new session with aninactive user or grant a waiting session with a new session). If theuser did not select a partner (active, one who left a message, waiting,or inactive), decision 1560 branches to “no” branch 1575.

After any partner-directed processing has taken place, a determinationis made as to whether the user has requested to close the displayedinstant messaging list (decision 1580). If the user has not requested toclose the displayed instant messaging list, decision 1580 branches to“no” branch 1585 and processing loops back to process the next userrequest. This looping continues until the user requests that the displayof the instant messaging list be closed, at which point decision 1580branches to “yes” branch 1590 and processing returns at 1595.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to display an instantmessaging session with multiple threads. Processing commences at 1600whereupon, at step 1610, the thread identifier is initialized to oneand, at step 1620, the message number for the message within the threadis initialized to zero.

A determination is made as to whether the view of this particulardiscussion thread has been collapsed (Show.ThreadID=False) or expanded(Show.ThreadID=True) at decision 1625. If the view of this discussionthread has been expanded, decision 1625 branches to “yes” branch 1628whereupon, at step 1630, an input textbox is displayed so that the usercan enter text for this discussion thread. The message number isincremented (step 1640) and the message corresponding to this threadidentifier and message number is displayed at step 1650. A determinationis made as to whether there are more messages in the thread (decision1660). If there are more messages in the thread, decision 1660 branchesto “yes” branch 1662 which loops back to increment the message numberand display the next message for the thread. This looping continuesuntil there are no more messages to write for this thread identifier, atwhich point decision 1660 branches to “no” branch 1665.

Returning to decision 1625, if the view of this discussion thread hasbeen collapsed, decision 1625 branches to “no” branch 1668 whereupon, atstep 1670, the first message of the collapsed discussion thread isdisplayed so that the user can view one line of the thread in order tobe able to decide whether to expand the collapsed thread and viewfurther messages.

After the discussion thread has been displayed (either in collapsed orexpanded fashion), a determination is made as to whether there are morethreads in the session (decision 1675). If there are more threads in thesession, decision 1675 branches to “yes” branch 1678 whereupon, at step1680, the thread identifier is incremented and processing loops back todisplay the next discussion thread. This looping continues until all thethreads in the session have been displayed, at which point decision 1675branches to “no” branch 1682.

The user's interaction with the multi-threaded instant messaging sessiondisplay is handled (predefined process 1685, see FIG. 17 andcorresponding text for processing details). A determination is made asto whether the user has opted to exit the multi-threaded instantmessaging session (decision 1690). If the user has not opted to exit thesession, decision 1690 branches to “no” branch 1692 which loops back tothe beginning to re-paint the multi-threaded session display. Processingof the multi-threaded session display continues until the user exits thesession, at which point decision 1690 branches to “yes” branch 1694 andprocessing ends at 1695.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to handle user inputwhile the user interacts with the multi-threaded instant messagingsession interface. Processing commences at 1700 when a user action isreceived at step 1705. A determination is made as to whether a newmessage has been received from either the message partner or from theuser (decision 1710). If a new message was received, decision 1710branches to “yes” branch 1712 whereupon another determination is made asto whether the new message is starting a new discussion thread or is amessage for an existing discussion thread (decision 1715). If themessage is for a new thread, decision 1715 branches to “yes” branch 1718whereupon the number of discussion threads is incremented at step 1720and the number of messages in the new thread is initialized to one atstep 1725. On the other hand, if the message is for an existingdiscussion thread, decision 1715 branches to “no” branch 1728 whereuponthe thread identifier is extracted from the message or from the inputtext box at step 1730, and the number of messages in the discussionthread is incremented at step 1735.

At step 1740, the message text is stored in an array that stores themessages for each thread. If the message is being sent from the user tothe user's message partner, the thread identifier and the message textis sent to the instant messaging partner at step 1745. The user'smulti-threaded instant messaging display is repainted to display themessage text (predefined process 1775, see FIG. 16 and correspondingtext for processing details).

Returning to decision 1710, if the action is not a new message foreither a new or existing discussion thread, decision 1710 branches to“no” branch 1748 whereupon, at step 1750, the thread identifier isextracted from the message text selected by the user. A determination ismade as to whether the user has opted to expand the selected thread(decision 1755). If the user has opted to expand the selected thread,decision 1755 branches to “yes” branch 1758 whereupon, at step 1760, avariable is set to expand the selected thread (Show.ThreadID=True) andthe multi-threaded instant messaging display is repainted in order toexpand the selected thread (predefined process 1775).

Returning to decision 1755, if the action was not to expand the selectedthread, then decision 1755 branches to “no” branch 1762 whereupon adetermination is made as to whether the user has opted to collapse theselected thread (decision 1765). If the user has opted to expand theselected thread, decision 1765 branches to “yes” branch 1768 whereupon,at step 1770, a variable is set to collapse the selected thread(Show.ThreadID=False) and the multi-threaded instant messaging displayis repainted in order to collapse the selected thread (predefinedprocess 1775). If the user did not opt to expand or collapse the thread,decision 1765 branches to “no” branch 1778 whereupon the user action ishandled at step 1780 and the multi-threaded instant messaging window isre-displayed (predefined process 1775). After the new message or otheruser action has been handled, processing returns to the callingprocedure at 1795.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to compute and transmit auser's activity level using a busy gauge. Processing commences at 1800whereupon a determination is made as to whether the user has opted touse a computed or manual method of identifying the user's activity level(decision 1805). If the user has opted to use the computed method,decision 1805 branches to “computed” branch 1810 to compute and transmitthe activity level.

At step 1815, activity levels are retrieved. For example, thresholds maybe in place so that if the user averages over 100 inputs per minute theuser's activity level is considered “high,” if the user averages between25 and 99 input actions per minute the activity level is “medium,” andif the user averages fewer than 25 input actions per minute, theactivity level is “low.” At step 1820 a timer is set to begin trackingthe user's input. The user's input activity (e.g., keyboard, mouse,voice, etc.) is traced for a period of time at step 1825. Once theactivity has been tracked for a period of time, at step 1830 the user'sactivity level is determined by comparing the activity metrics with thethreshold levels that were retrieved in step 1815. Once the user'sactivity level has been determined, at step 1835 the activity level issent to the user's current instant messaging partners. A determinationis made as to whether the user has exited the instant messagingapplication (decision 1840). Processing continues to periodically gatherand track the user's activity level by decision 1840 branching to “no”branch 1845 until the user exits the instant messaging application. Whenthe user exits the instant messaging application, decision 1840 branchesto “yes” branch 1850 and processing ends at 1895.

Returning to decision 1805, if the user opted to use a manual method toconvey his or her activity level, decision 1850 branches to “manual”branch 1855 whereupon, at step 1860, manual input dialog screen 1865. Asshown in input dialog screen 1865, the user can choose whether hiscurrent activity level is high, medium, or low (step 1870). Once theactivity level is selected, the dialog screen is closed (step 1875) Theselected activity level is sent to the user's current instant messagingpartners at step 1880. The system waits for the user to reselect adifferent activity level or exit the instant messaging application atstep 1885. A determination is made as to whether the user has exited theinstant messaging application or wishes to reselect a different activitylevel (decision 1890). If the user wishes to reselect a differentactivity level, decision 1890 branches to “no” branch 1892 whichbranches to “no” branch 1892 to allow the user to reselect his or heractivity level. This continues until the user exits the instantmessaging application, at which point decision 1890 branches to “yes”branch 1894 and processing ends at 1895.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the steps taken to provide queue andsession counts. Processing commences at 1900 whereupon, at step 1910,configuration settings are retrieved from configuration data store 625that indicate whether the user has opted to show message partners thenumber of active instant messaging sessions (Show_Chats) and whether theuser has opted to show waiting message partners their position in theuser's instant messaging queue (Show_Position).

A determination is made as to whether the user has opted to providewaiting message partners with their position within the user's instantmessaging queue (decision 1920). If the user has opted to provideinstant messaging partners their position within the queue, decision1920 branches to “yes” branch 1922 whereupon processing takes place toprovide the partners with their respective queue positions. Theidentifier of the first instant messaging partner waiting for an instantmessaging session is retrieved from instant messaging queue 1160 at step1925. At step 1930, the retrieved partner is provided with his or herposition in the queue as retrieved from instant messaging queue 1160. Adetermination is made as to whether there are more partners in the queuethat are waiting for an instant messaging session (decision 1940). Ifthere are more partners in the queue, decision 1940 branches to “yes”branch 1942 whereupon, at step 1945, the identifier of the next partnerthat is waiting for an instant messaging session is retrieved frominstant messaging queue 1160 and processing loops back to send theretrieved partner his or her position in the queue. This loopingcontinues until all waiting partners have been processed, at which pointdecision 1940 branches to “no” branch 1946. Returning to decision 1920,if the user did not opt to provide waiting partners with their positionin the queue, decision 1920 branches to “no” branch 1948 bypassing thesteps shown in steps 1925 through 1945.

A determination is made as to whether the user has opted to providemessage partners with the number of active instant messaging sessions inwhich the user is currently engaged. If the user has opted to share thenumber of active instant messaging sessions, decision 1950 branches to“yes” branch 1955 to provide the session information. At step 1960, thenumber of instant messaging sessions is retrieved. The identifier of thepartner corresponding to the first active instant messaging session isretrieved from instant messaging queue 1160 at step 1965. At step 1970,the number of sessions is transmitted to the retrieved partner. Adetermination is made as to whether there are more active sessions(decision 1975). If there are more active sessions, decision 1975branches to “yes” branch 1978 whereupon, at step 1980, the identifier ofthe partner corresponding to the next active instant messaging sessionis retrieved from instant messaging queue 1160 and processing loops backto send the retrieved partner the number of session information. Thislooping continues until there are no more partners to process, at whichpoint decision 1975 branches to “no” branch 1990 and processing returnsat 1995. Returning to decision 1950, if the user opted to not providepartners with the number of active sessions, then decision 1950 branchesto “no” branch 1985 bypassing steps 1960 through 1980 and processingreturns at 1995.

FIG. 20 illustrates information handling system 2001 which is asimplified example of a computer system capable of performing thecomputing operations described herein. Computer system 2001 includesprocessor 2000 which is coupled to host bus 2002. A level two (L2) cachememory 2004 is also coupled to host bus 2002. Host-to-PCI bridge 2006 iscoupled to main memory 2008, includes cache memory and main memorycontrol functions, and provides bus control to handle transfers amongPCI bus 2010, processor 2000, L2 cache 2004, main memory 2008, and hostbus 2002. Main memory 2008 is coupled to Host-to-PCI bridge 2006 as wellas host bus 2002. Devices used solely by host processor(s) 2000, such asLAN card 2030, are coupled to PCI bus 2010. Service Processor Interfaceand ISA Access Pass-through 2012 provides an interface between PCI bus2010 and PCI bus 2014. In this manner, PCI bus 2014 is insulated fromPCI bus 2010. Devices, such as flash memory 2018, are coupled to PCI bus2014. In one implementation, flash memory 2018 includes BIOS code thatincorporates the necessary processor executable code for a variety oflow-level system functions and system boot functions.

PCI bus 2014 provides an interface for a variety of devices that areshared by host processor(s) 2000 and Service Processor 2016 including,for example, flash memory 2018. PCI-to-ISA bridge 2035 provides buscontrol to handle transfers between PCI bus 2014 and ISA bus 2040,universal serial bus (USB) functionality 2045, power managementfunctionality 2055, and can include other functional elements not shown,such as a real-time clock (RTC), DMA control, interrupt support, andsystem management bus support. Nonvolatile RAM 2020 is attached to ISABus 2040. Service Processor 2016 includes JTAG and I2C busses 2022 forcommunication with processor(s) 2000 during initialization steps.JTAG/I2C busses 2022 are also coupled to L2 cache 2004, Host-to-PCIbridge 2006, and main memory 2008 providing a communications pathbetween the processor, the Service Processor, the L2 cache, theHost-to-PCI bridge, and the main memory. Service Processor 2016 also hasaccess to system power resources for powering down information handlingdevice 2001.

Peripheral devices and input/output (I/O) devices can be attached tovarious interfaces (e.g., parallel interface 2062, serial interface2064, keyboard interface 2068, and mouse interface 2070 coupled to ISAbus 2040. Alternatively, many I/O devices can be accommodated by a superI/O controller (not shown) attached to ISA bus 2040.

In order to attach computer system 2001 to another computer system tocopy files over a network, LAN card 2030 is coupled to PCI bus 2010.Similarly, to connect computer system 2001 to an ISP to connect to theInternet using a telephone line connection, modem 2075 is connected toserial port 2064 and PCI-to-ISA Bridge 2035.

While the computer system described in FIG. 20 is capable of executingthe processes described herein, this computer system is simply oneexample of a computer system. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat many other computer system designs are capable of performing theprocesses described herein.

One of the preferred implementations of the invention is a clientapplication, namely, a set of instructions (program code) in a codemodule that may, for example, be resident in the random access memory ofthe computer. Until required by the computer, the set of instructionsmay be stored in another computer memory, for example, in a hard diskdrive, or in a removable memory such as an optical disk (for eventualuse in a CD ROM) or floppy disk (for eventual use in a floppy diskdrive), or downloaded via the Internet or other computer network. Thus,the present invention may be implemented as a computer program productfor use in a computer. In addition, although the various methodsdescribed are conveniently implemented in a general purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by software, one of ordinary skillin the art would also recognize that such methods may be carried out inhardware, in firmware, or in more specialized apparatus constructed toperform the required method steps.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that,based upon the teachings herein, that changes and modifications may bemade without departing from this invention and its broader aspects.Therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope allsuch changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scopeof this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that theinvention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will beunderstood by those with skill in the art that if a specific number ofan introduced claim element is intended, such intent will be explicitlyrecited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no suchlimitation is present. For non-limiting example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimelements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim element by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element,even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more”or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”; the sameholds true for the use in the claims of definite articles.

1. A computer implemented method comprising: determining that a firstuser of a computer system has opted to use an automatic method fordetermining a first user activity level; in response to determining thatthe first user of the computer system has opted to use the automaticmethod, automatically tracking an input frequency for the first user ofthe computer system, wherein the tracking comprises keeping a count ofeach of a plurality of user inputs, from the first user to the computersystem, within a predetermined time period; comparing the inputfrequency to a plurality of user activity levels, wherein each useractivity level corresponds to a different numerical range of userinputs; in response to the comparing, determining a first user activitylevel based upon the input frequency; sending the first user activitylevel to one or more current instant messaging partners; receiving, by afirst instant messaging partner, the first user activity level;identifying, by the first instant messaging partner, a first busy gaugeicon, selected from a plurality of busy gauge icons, wherein the firstbusy gauge icon includes a first progressive indicator that correspondsto the first user activity level; displaying the first busy gauge iconand a first partner name, the first partner name corresponding to thefirst user, wherein the first busy gauge icon is displayed proximate tothe first partner name; displaying a first indicator icon, proximate tothe first partner name and the first busy gauge icon, wherein the firstindicator icon indicates that the first user activity level wasdetermined automatically; determining that a second user of the computersystem has opted to use a manual method for determining a second useractivity level; in response to determining that the second user of thecomputer system has opted to use the manual method, receiving, by thefirst instant messaging partner, the second user activity level for thesecond user; identifying, by the first instant messaging partner, asecond busy gauge icon, selected from the plurality of busy gauge icons,wherein the second busy gauge icon includes a second progressiveindicator that corresponds to the second user activity level; displayingthe second busy gauge icon and a second partner name, the second partnername corresponding to the second user, wherein the second busy gaugeicon is displayed proximate to the second partner name; and displaying asecond indicator icon, proximate to the second partner name and thesecond busy gauge icon, wherein the second indicator icon indicates thatthe second user activity level was determined manually.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein receiving a second user activity level for a second userfurther comprises: displaying a dialog of various activity levels; andreceiving a selection from the second user that corresponds to one ofthe various activity levels.
 3. An information handling systemcomprising: one or more processors; a memory accessible by theprocessors; a nonvolatile storage device accessible by the processors; adisplay screen accessible by the processors; and a busy gauge tool forproviding activity levels of instant messaging partners, the busy gaugetool including software code effective to: determine that a first userof a computer system has opted to use an automatic method fordetermining a first user activity level; in response to determining thatthe first user of the computer system has opted to use the automaticmethod, automatically track an input frequency for a first user of thecomputer system, wherein the tracking comprises keeping a count of eachof a plurality of user inputs, from the first user to the computersystem, within a predetermined time period; compare the input frequencyto a plurality of user activity levels, wherein each user activity levelcorresponds to a different numerical range of user inputs; in responseto the comparing, determine a first user activity level based upon theinput frequency; send the first user activity level to one or morecurrent instant messaging partners; receive, by a first instantmessaging partner, the first user activity level; identify, by the firstinstant messaging partner, a first busy gauge icon, selected from aplurality of busy gauge icons, wherein the first busy gauge iconincludes a first progressive indicator that corresponds to the firstuser activity level; display the first busy gauge icon and a firstpartner name, the first partner name corresponding to the first user,wherein the first busy gauge icon is displayed proximate to the firstpartner name; display a first indicator icon, proximate to the firstpartner name and the first busy gauge icon, wherein the first indicatoricon indicates that the first user activity level was determinedautomatically; determine that a second user of the computer system hasopted to use a manual method for determining a second user activitylevel; in response to determining that the second user of the computersystem has opted to use the manual method, receive, by the first instantmessaging partner, the second user activity level for the second user;identify, by the first instant messaging partner, a second busy gaugeicon, selected from the plurality of busy gauge icons, wherein thesecond busy gauge icon includes a second progressive indicator thatcorresponds to the second user activity level; display the second busygauge icon and a second partner name, the second partner namecorresponding to the second user, wherein the second busy gauge icon isdisplayed proximate to the second partner name; and display a secondindicator icon, proximate to the second partner name and the second busygauge icon, wherein the second indicator icon indicates that the seconduser activity level was determined manually.
 4. The information handlingsystem of claim 3 wherein the busy gauge tool further comprises:software code effective to display a dialog of various activity levels;and software code effective to receive a selection from the second userthat corresponds to one of the various activity levels.
 5. A computerreadable storage medium including a computer program product, saidcomputer program product comprising software code effective to:determine that a first user of a computer system has opted to use anautomatic method for determining a first user activity level; inresponse to determining that the first user of the computer system hasopted to use the automatic method, automatically track an inputfrequency for the first user of the computer system, wherein thetracking comprises keeping a count of each of a plurality of userinputs, from the first user, to the computer system, within apredetermined time period; compare the input frequency to a plurality ofuser activity levels, wherein each user activity level corresponds to adifferent numerical range of user inputs; in response to the comparing,determine a first user activity level based upon the input frequency;send the first user activity level to one or more current instantmessaging partners; receive, by a first instant messaging partner, thefirst user activity level; identify, by the first instant messagingpartner, a first busy gauge icon, selected from a plurality of busygauge icons, wherein the first busy gauge icon includes a firstprogressive indicator that corresponds to the first user activity level;display the first busy gauge icon and a first partner name, the firstpartner name corresponding to the first user, wherein the first busygauge icon is displayed proximate to the first partner name; display afirst indicator icon, proximate to the first partner name and the firstbusy gauge icon, wherein the first indicator icon indicates that thefirst user activity level was determined automatically; determine that asecond user of the computer system has opted to use a manual method fordetermining a second user activity level; in response to determiningthat the second user of the computer system has opted to use the manualmethod, receive, by the first instant messaging partner, the second useractivity level for the second user; identify, by the first instantmessaging partner, a second busy gauge icon, selected from the pluralityof busy gauge icons, wherein the second busy gauge icon includes asecond progressive indicator that corresponds to the second useractivity level; display the second busy gauge icon and a second partnername, the second partner name corresponding to the second user, whereinthe second busy gauge icon is displayed proximate to the second partnername; and display a second indicator icon, proximate to the secondpartner name and the second busy gauge icon, wherein the secondindicator icon indicates that the second user activity level wasdetermined manually.
 6. The computer program product of claim 5 furthercomprising: software code effective to display a dialog of variousactivity levels; and software code effective to receive a selection fromthe second user that corresponds to one of the various activity levels.